How to attract international travellers: Complete guide for hotels

The international travel market is of course, by nature, very complex and diverse. However, international travel is a universal activity that almost every human with the means to do so enjoys. Either that or it becomes a necessity for them if they have to travel for work or to visit family.

There are many reasons people travel internationally and that’s why it’s such a growth market, and such a valuable one for many hoteliers.

Attracting international travellers to your hotel may differ in difficulty depending on what region and location you’re located in. By the same token, the level of prioritisation you give to capturing international travellers will also be impacted by these factors.

If you are a property that relies on international bookings or wants more global traveller bookings, you need to tap into the motivations, behaviours, and preferences of travellers around the world. Given how many countries and cultures there are in the world, it becomes a huge task to understand who you should be targeting and exactly how you should communicate to them in a way that convinces them to stay at your hotel.

This blog will try to give you as much information and advice as possible on international travellers and how you can get more of them through the doors of your property.

How are global travellers changing?

As international travel continues to increase, travellers also continue to evolve in the way that they plan, research, book, and experience travel.

Technology plays a major role, especially if it maintains its accelerated state of development and society becomes more sophisticated and more accepting of alternative lifestyles.

Travel is undertaken for many reasons and is instigated by many sources of inspiration and motivation. The way travel is planned, booked, and experienced can change from individual to individual, but there are still defined groups hotels can focus on to develop strategies and create the personalised service all guests seek in a trip.

The new travel experience

In an era where the impact of technology and data has never been larger, it should be easier for travellers to navigate the maze of destination and booking options to make the right travel choices and be more satisfied with their trips. In the same breath, there should be more opportunities for travel marketers to apply specific, personal, strategies and make dramatic increases in conversion rates and optimise guest experiences.

These days, some travellers will prioritise technology and personalised service, while others could grow to see it as a hindrance to their experience.

The types of services offered to travellers will be impacted by technological advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing and virtual reality. But ultimately, travellers will still have the same human needs as they have always had – it is their purchasing behaviour that will vary.

New Hotel Guests #1 The Simplicity Searchers The first group are travellers who want their trip planning and booking to be as easy and seamless as possible. If this means handing over responsibility to third-parties to organise their travel, so be it.

Generally holidays are rare for this tribe and are treated as an opportunity to pamper themselves. This is why they feel no need to invite extra stress by insisting on managing every detail on their own.

They’re happy to try new experiences but only if safety and satisfaction can be assured by the additional benefits of homely comforts that allow rest and rejuvenation. It’s believed this group will be money-rich but time-poor and mostly likely suffering burnout from their daily lives.

New Hotel Guests #2 The Reward Hunters To this tribe, travel is an opportunity to undergo personal growth and enlightenment. This could mean enrichment in mental health, physical health, spiritual health, or anything else that centres on the ‘self’. They will see their trip as a well-deserved treat that is most likely to involve a retreat of some kind or travel focused specifically on wellness.

Crowds and the most popular tourist spots don’t appeal to this group and they actively avoid mass-market offers. Instead they prefer to look for special or rare experiences.

Technology is also something they won’t want to be a slave to so they’re more likely to use it at the start of their customer journey than any other.

New Hotel Guests #3 The Social Capital Seekers These travellers choose their destination based on the opportunities to capture and share social media-worthy experiences. For them, travel is an activity that should be done to fulfil personal goals and something that is treated as a must-share endeavour, rather than a private getaway.

They are not restricted in their journey and are always open to accepting new services, providing they increase the chance for social capital gain.

Obviously technology is their friend and they’ll embrace it at every opportunity, including advanced features like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

New Hotel Guests #4 The Cultural Purists Cultural purists want to immerse themselves in the new and unfamiliar to explore different ways of living. Getting off-the-beaten-track is very popular with this group.

They put little emphasis on planning, preferring to take a randomised approach to add a sense of adventure to their trip. Often they gather inspiration and stimulus from lifestyle media such as documentaries, YouTube, and blogs created by their peers.

Cultural Purists don’t want vast amounts of data used to personalise services. In fact, members of this tribe do not want their past preferences to guide their future plans. Flexibility and spontaneity are keywords when thinking about this group.

New Hotel Guests #5 The Ethical Travellers Conscience, morals, and core values based around political or environmental issues shape the travel of this tribe. Their ideal is to bring a neutral balance to the world by keeping the impacts of individuals under control.

This group will have concerns about the sustainability of their trip and the places they stay. Of course, some will see certain issues as more serious than others, be it a carbon footprint or political unres.

Ethical travellers will have a firm grasp on their travel plans and will be extremely focused on knowing where their money will go and how their travel providers might use it

New Hotel Guests #6 The Obligation Meeter This tribe are largely restricted in their travel choices. Whether they are travelling for work, medical needs, charity commitments, or anything else, they have less control over where and when they can book their trip

Similar to ‘The Simplicity Searchers’, they will look to technology smooth the process of their entire trip. Also described as corporate travellers, they will still need flexibility in order to tailor their travel within defined budgets or other parameters

‘The Obligation Meeters’ are uniquely balancing between freedom and restraint. Unlike the other tribes, they have a value-system from which it is relatively easy to infer preference; this tribe do not have a core value, rather, they have an objective.

One proviso: The more things change, the more they stay the same

They say food brings people together and research from Oxford University confirmed that communal eating “…increases social bonding and feelings of wellbeing, and enhances one’s sense of contentedness and embedding within the community”.

People will always love food and positive experiences.

Combine this with the relaxed and happy feelings your guests have when they stay at your hotel and it’s feel-good vibes all round!

Your hotel restaurant presents, not only an opportunity to delight your guests, but to also boost revenue and stabilise any cash flow fluctuations you might face thanks to seasonal demand.

Get your restaurant offering spot on and you can attract guests on an international scale and become a local destination in your own right.

Key tips for attracting international guests

International travel is now fully-fledged. Anyone can travel anywhere, anytime they like.

From 2011-2020, international travellers to the United States are expected to grow from 62.8 million to 90.3 million.

International leisure guests are usually more valuable to your hotel because they tend to stay longer and spend more, given they have saved up for several weeks of annual leave.

With the growth of global travel showing no signs of slowing down, securing international bookings is an absolute must for hotels that want to become profitable. There are some fundamental strategies you need to employ and some factors that may be holding you back.

As always, the key to success is in the details.

Here are five simple tactics to attract more international guests to your hotel:

#1 Increase your language and currency capabilities If you don’t have multi-language and multi-currency optimised, it’s very likely you’ll experience a high number of abandoned bookings.

Guests may love the look of your website or property images, but if they’re unable to read about your features in their own language, or view rates into their own currency, they’ll quickly become frustrated and look for a hotel that CAN accommodate these needs.

Translating your web pages is not the only priority. To give international guests the full experience you may want to offer translated brochures or audio tours to give guests an idea of what to do and see during their trip.

Employing multi-lingual staff will also be a huge benefit. Communicating with them prior to their arrival in their own language will make them feel more comfortable. Then when your guests arrive you can ensure their trip runs smoothly and you receive positive reviews.

There are generally popular languages such as English and Spanish that you will want to cover but to help you decide which languages to translate you should use Google analytics. You can see which countries you’re getting the most views on your website from and start focusing on those key areas.

Knowing where the bulk of your international audience is from is important for all aspects of your hotel marketing.

#2 Stay active on social media As with Google, Facebook can tell you where your followers are from. With this information you can start posting content to engage the target audience to want to attract, or use targeted ads.

You can be as generic or as specific as you want with your advertising, depending on what your goal is. For example, targeting females under 30 vs females in general.

You could even start making occasional posts in their native language to create a stronger affinity with them. Being active in general, with varied and interesting content, is the best thing you can do.

With over 1.5 billion Facebook users, who check their profiles on average 14 times a day, you have no limits on who you can attract to your hotel!

#3 Keep up-to-date with OTAs and maximise SEO Obviously international travellers will research their trips via channels they’re familiar with. Making your presence felt on the local OTAs and third party sites of the travellers you want to target is vital. Again, you can analyse your traffic to see which regions you’re most popular with and redouble your efforts in that area.

The same goes for search engine optimisation. If organic traffic is flooding in from China, you should make it a priority to connect to Ctrip and start capturing the huge amount of potential bookings waiting for you.

#4 Partner with international websites and showcase your destination Travel blogs and websites can reach far and wide, so it’s worth getting in contact with any that you think may prove useful.

By offering a free stay to bloggers, you can convince them to write a review of your location and property gaining you exposure in their own country and beyond.

Creating links with local publications can be a strong driver of international traffic too.

#5 Maintain your website and manage your reviews Few things are more important than the overall aesthetic and functionality of your hotel website. If it looks old and is slow, guests will view this as a representation of your property and service.

This is especially important when international visitors are often coming from a location that expects an optimal experience online; such as China, which has very fast internet speeds.

Of equal importance are your online reviews. International travellers generally trust their peers so if your rating isn’t high, your bookings will suffer.

Do your best to manage online reviews by being responsive, calm, and patient.

#6 Target corporate and group bookings

Putting your hotel in front of as many eyes as possible is a good initial step. A global distribution system (GDS) is an extremely popular method of booking for corporate companies and travellers. The ability to link with hotels, flights, and car rentals in one simple interface makes it the perfect platform for that never-ending need of convenience. Properties can offer guests better value by combining accommodation, transport, and other travel plans into one rate. This is always attractive to business travellers.

A GDS will also give you the following benefits:

A single point of entry to thousands of travel agents across the worldAccess non-traditional booking agents for last-minute staysAccess to Fortune 500 companies

Understanding how business travellers make their booking decision is extremely useful for your hotel. Their preferences allow you to place a measuring stick to your property and see which boxes are ticked and which need work. Perhaps surprisingly, proximity of their hotel to their meeting far outweighs their desire to travel to and from the airport easily. The need for convenience is filtered throughout almost every statistic when it comes to business travellers.

It’s also very lucrative for you to open and maintain a relationship with an entire company. Keeping a company account on the books will keep your revenue strong, and increase the likelihood of capturing group bookings.

You need to identify your market and understand what groups your property will be able to accommodate. Only target who you have the space and time for. Once you know this, you can create fun and attractive packages for groups around team building, meetings, or conferences.

If you want group bookings, you have to establish a clear brand presence in this area. Highlight the most relevant features on your website including photographs and outline the most important details. For example, knowing indoor and outdoor seating capacity will be important to groups who are looking at your hotel as a potential booking, as will free WiFi and other resources for all guests.

To get a head start, you could make a habit of attending trade shows and travel and tourism events, where you’ll get the chance to meet directly with many key decision makers about the benefits of your hotel the next time they need to organise a business trip.

How to attract overseas guests from the corporate sector

If your hotel is located in or near any sizeable city across the globe, the chances are overseas guests who are travelling for business will come across your property’s website, online travel agent (OTA) profile, social media page, and more as they conduct their accommodation research.

There nearly 500 million business trips each year in the USA alone.

Reasons for overseas trips are often to attend a conference, speak at a summit, discuss deals with partners, inspect a worksite, foster relationships, or to establish new business opportunities.

Depending on the size of the company the business traveller will either book their transport and accommodation themselves, usually via online travel agents and hotel/travel websites – and organise their own itinerary – or their company will do so on their behalf through travel agents and global distribution systems.

The frequency, duration, and expenditure of these corporate trips – and the travel behaviour displayed by the guest – will be impacted by the particular industry, gender, age, and personal preference of the individual.

Business travellers are an increasingly diverse group and within this umbrella group there will be many different demographics that have varying requirements. For instance, in the future it’s likely that China will encompass the biggest proportion of business travel spend.

However, there are some common general needs for business travellers:

Business travellers will commonly visit the same destinations each year, or even multiple times in a year, so they appreciate a flexible loyalty program.Business travellers are often short on time and will look for the most convenient and efficient options, so they’ll search for easy transport options, quick check-in/out, hotels that have adequate work spaces and WiFi, the convenience of a hotel gym, and healthy meals that can be enjoyed on the run.Customisation and personalisation is very important for a business traveller. They appreciate having their affairs in order meaning pre-stay communication, mobile check-in and room entry options, simple expense reporting, and proactive and responsive staff members are vital considerations.Business travellers expect high quality technology to be in place, both to help them book their trips and to utilise during their stay.People love mobile apps in general, and business travellers find them particularly useful to organise their trip, check details, or find help.

Business travellers want to stick to their everyday routine, while being extremely busy with the work purposes of their trip. This means they place a high level of importance in maintaining their normal diet, exercise, and off-work habits.

Let’s look at what business travellers look for in a hotel:

55% say mobile apps help enhance their time on the road75% assert that access to WiFi is vital when they’re away from the officeThe same number say they maintain their diet from home or even attempt to eat betterThe ability to press their clothing, exercise, and eat a healthy breakfast is important to start their dayBusiness travellers are usually equipped with at least four electrical devices – laptop, smartphone, tablet, personal groomer, etc80% of business travellers get no more than eight hours of sleep, so they place a premium on being uninterrupted69% say mobile limitations is the only reason they would book on another deviceWhen searching for a hotel 46% look for best value while 54% put the highest focus on being close to their meetings or clients

Additional features your hotel should have to increase your chances of capturing a booking include shuttle services for easy transport, accelerated check-in/out via mobile; office and workspace essentials like desks, stationary, and printers; an adequate number of power outlets, enough space and privacy, and access to leisure activities if they choose to extend their stay.

The global impact on travellers by technology

Global travellers now prefer to make travel and hotel bookings via technology such as mobile apps.

Wait, do they? The answer is yes and it will only become a bigger yes in the future.

If the statement takes you by surprise, it probably means you’re in the majority of hoteliers who haven’t implemented a mobile app into their business strategy. While over 75% of properties concede the importance of an app, only a quarter are currently utilising one.

It’s no longer enough to simply have a mobile-friendly web experience. This is expected. Now, guests are excited about booking and managing stays on an app.

The travel industry is expected to contribute US$17.3 billion in global revenue by 2020. When every traveller is equipped with a smartphone, mobile app domination was bound to happen. The sheer growth of mobile traffic was a precursor to this reality. Even in 2013, around 40% of overall digital traffic was from a mobile device. Marriott International, forever at the forefront of innovation, immediately launched mobile check-in via their own app to compliment the mobile bookings they were already accepting.

Fast-forward another few years and 85% of travellers already use smartphones to plan their leisure trips with travel apps ranking seventh for the most downloaded category of apps.

For further evidence, consider these survey stats from Travelport Digital:

58% of people prefer apps to search for flights53% preferred apps to find accommodation82% of travellers said they will be downloading the same number or more travel apps than they did the previous year35% like the immediacy of push notifications to keep them up to date90% of travel industry professionals said they were investing in mobile in the coming year60% of travel brands are looking to enhance or replace their app this year

Travellers prefer mobile apps to manage their trips because well developed apps make things quicker and easier. Convenience and personalisation is the order of the day and, while there may be warring debates about the role technology plays in optimising these desires, apps are proven to be effective in this area.

Here’s why app technology is such a boon for global travellers:

Apps make bookings easy With a travel app, it only takes a few taps of a finger to research accommodation, find reviews, check rates, and make a booking. With the easy user experience apps are famous for, most people could do it with one eye open.

Apps simplify transactions Paperwork is wiped off the map with mobile apps. Travellers can keep multiple documents including reservations, emails, tickets, receipts, confirmations etc. all in one place to be accessed at a moment’s notice.

Apps are an attractive proposition for buyers With growing number and popularity of apps, it means there’s a lot of competition between them. Travellers can carefully consider which one they want to use so often it may come down to what discounts or rebates suit them best.

Apps improve service and communication Industry apps provide customised services which include tour packages for different purposes and types of travellers. Travel agencies have become quite conscious in paying attention to the specific requirements and priorities of their customers. There’s also travel apps that include emergency help, such as in the event of a natural disaster. For visitors, knowing where to go and what to do could be lifesaving.

Many travel apps will operate in a similar way and, as stated, will make similar offers to remain competitive. So what can make your hotel stand out?

Storytelling If all you’re giving travellers is a price it will be very hard for them to distinguish you from any other deal and therefore reduce the likelihood of them booking with you. Engage users with fascinating stories and beautiful photos of desired destinations. Wrap a compelling story around a hotel deal. The more you can tell them about what they may experience the more you can entice them to buy.

Local guides If your hotel can act as a local guide and give guests handy recommendations and advice, it will significantly improve their experience. This might mean informing guests of local dining options and giving directions to nearby attractions.

In-hotel features It’s important your app offers something exclusive for guests. For example, you might have a section where they can quickly contact the front desk or make requests, check the availability of amenities and make bookings, or accept offers like wine tasting or exercise classes.

Allow your app to stand in as the front desk The more guests can do autonomously, the happier they’ll be when it comes to small tasks. Letting your guests check-in and check-out straight from their app is a good first step.

Give guests more control with their app Instead of requesting certain things of your staff, it would be much better if your app could fulfil what your guest needs. Integrate the app so they can order room service, control room temperature, operate the TV and other technology straight from their mobile.

The global impact of voice, face, and emotional technology on travel

Science fiction is invariably based on real theory, and usually becomes reality at some point in the future. This is the case with technology such as voice, face and even emotional recognition. No longer will films be able to awe us with these features because they already exist in real life!

Human-centred technology like this is especially relevant to travel, something raised in Euromonitor International’s annual Top 100 Cities report. The research company proposes that both face and voice recognition, in conjunction with artificial intelligence, are set to see a huge rise in prominence. Beyond that, Euromonitor believes even emotional recognition may play a part in targeting travellers to help them make booking decisions.

Let’s take a look at the key advancements and potential uses for each piece of technology…

Facial Recognition: The promise of streamlined airport and hotel experiences The global facial recognition market is expected to grow to almost $7.8 billion (USD) by 2022.

Facial recognition has the potential to significantly improve security and efficiency at both airports and hotels. If the technology can be implemented on a global scale it will forgo a lot of unnecessary paperwork and time spent waiting in line or checking-in.

Travellers will be able to move more smoothly through the various sections of an airport and then not only skip the check-in line at their hotel, but also enter their room without need of a key. On the security side of the coin, this technology will be extremely effective in picking up people who aren’t who they say they are or don’t have the authority to be in a particular place.

In many airports facial recognition is already being used and/or tested, such as in Aruba, Boston Logan, Singapore, and Dublin. Most of these cases involve passengers having their photo taken, their face checked against the image held in the biometric chip of their e-passport, or against an airline passenger manifest, and they move through the airport without the need for a manual identity check.

Voice Recognition: The promise of an efficient online search aid for travellers With Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa making such a splash in the home device market, voice is seen as one of the next big frontiers of travel in delivering greater convenience for travellers and hopefully more revenue for travel providers.

Without the amount of data in the world, voice search has the potential to really narrow things down. Instead of a whole screen of information overload, a voice-based search will be designed to deliver a much more personal and helpful result.

By only delivering the most relevant and specific information to a traveller much time and confusion can be saved. This is where AI will play a large role, with the ability to analyse what data is useful in milliseconds.

Over time it’s hoped a traveller may only have to utter “I want to holiday in Sydney” and their mobile or other device will present them with a range of immediately helpful options.

Physical locations such as airports and hotels will also utilise voice in the way of concierges. An AI voice app will be able to guide prospective guests through their journey or hotel stay right from the palm of their hand. This presents a smarter and cheaper solution than a physical AI bot and Dallas/Fort Worth airport is already working in this space.

Emotional Recognition: The promise of a helping travellers experience the perfect trip While still rudimentary at this stage, the potential for emotional recognition technology is very real.

Travelsify, an online hotel booking platform, is taking baby steps by allowing users to pick a hotel based on their mood or emotional state, rather than simply selecting from a list of amenities.

Expedia is another company that used sensors to assess the emotional state of its users, to develop strategies for better online conversion and customer booking experience.

Increasing international hotel bookings easily

Some international travellers want to spend their time in big cities and built-up areas – while many want to explore the entirety of what a country has to offer.

Even properties in remote areas may rely upon international bookings or want to try increasing their revenue from this market. One such example is Bullo River Station in Australia. Located within 500,000 acres of private countryside in the northwest corner of the Northern Territory bordering Western Australia, Bullo River Station is a picturesque escape to the true outback of Australia.

The property is surrounded by the coffee coloured waters of the Victoria River, encompassed by rugged hills telling stories through Aboriginal rock art.

Visitors are bound to catch a glimpse of the 9,000 Brahman-cross cattle along with wallabies, dingoes, wild buffalo, and a myriad of native and migratory birds, fish and, on the off chance, crocodiles.

However, the principle behind attracting new and ongoing business is the same for every hotel; work on increasing brand visibility and making it easy for guests to book.

You need to stay connected to the vast online marketplace where travellers are looking to book their next international trip.

For example:

Stay connected to guests from the outside world with a modern channel manager that integrates with your booking engine to increase online exposure and capture potential bookings.Keep present an eye out for new customers by using an integrated channel manager to distribute and sell the most rooms possible through as many online channels as possible at the same time.Take around-the-clock commision-free online hotel bookings through your hotel website by using an online booking engine with multi-language and currency capabilities.Integrate your PMS with a channel manager eliminate manual entry of inventory and enjoy instantly updated rates, availability and special offers.

A channel manager really is the biggest piece of assistance you can get in attracting international bookings. Because a channel manager automates and accelerates so much of your work via a pooled inventory model and PMS integration, you can connect to more and more online travel agents without increasing your workload. This puts your hotel in front of millions more travellers than you could have reached without these connections.

Using a channel manager to list on as many OTAs as you like can also boost your direct bookings. In what’s known as the billboard effect, travellers may find your property on a site like Booking.com but then visit your hotel website and eventually complete their reservation there, saving you the commission fee.

International hotel sales: Turning business into repeat business

Running any successful hotel is a bit of a cycle:

The more guests you can attract, the more guests you can service with a great experience. The more guests you give a great experience to, the more repeat bookings and increased reputation you get. The more your reputation increases, the more guests you can attract.

Customer retention and repeat bookings are extremely important in maintaining a reputation as a great hotel. If you can get the same people booking with you time after time you can lay claim to that in your marketing. People don’t go anywhere else because you are the best. It’s also more likely that regular customers will recommend you and become free ambassadors, so the more you have the better.

Here are some tactics you can use to master the guest relationship and keep them coming back.

Send automated emails Email is the best way to keep in touch with your international guests, since they will be overseas in conflicting time zones, making it difficult to get in touch over the phone.

Send automated emails through your hotel booking engine. Guests should hear from you before they stay and after they return home.

Here’s an outline of email communications to keep your guests engaged before and after their stay:

Confirmation of reservation This is an automatic email that is sent immediately after your guest enters their details to make a booking. A credit card is usually required, so this email is to reassure your guests their reservation was successful.

Thank you

The tone of this email should be personal, showing guests that you appreciate their business and look forward to meeting them. It gives your hotel that personal touch and increases their anticipation for the trip. Send it about a day after they have made their reservation.

Feedback request Whether or not your guest has had a good stay at your hotel, you should be asking them for their feedback afterwards. Ask them if they have any suggestions for how you can improve.

Special offers

Make sure each guest gets an email with a special promo code to get a dollar amount or percentage off their next stay.

Run promotions to past guests

Promotions and discounts can help encourage people to book with you and also helps generate buzz about your business.

They can also be a great way to remind travellers of the amazing time they had at your property – and the second time they can enjoy it at a discounted price or with some added extras. Amplify your promos on email and social media to drum up attention.

People like to feel special. The fact that you remember them and stay in touch will make them feel good, especially if you offer your ‘best’ customers the most luxurious perks, like free room upgrades or free spa treatments.

Hotel Mobile App is the best app for hoteliers to know about the reviews of guests about their hotels and they can improve their services according to the customers.